I've Got the Strangest Feeling This Isn't Our First Time Around

11

"Mm, yes. Alexis Maven." Snoozemore tells the team. "In her early 20s. Found last night at a rave in Shroom City, with high traces of a drug in her body."

"What drug?" Mario asks.

"I've been informed it's official name is Hydreclexin." Snoozemore says. "Its street name is called 'Silver Stars', and as far as we're all concerned, it's more dangerous than any power up or hex in our databases. Pauline?"

The brunette nods, then pulls up a fact sheet for everyone to see.

"The first few doses are deceptively harmless, because the drug not only has the appearance of liquid silver, it has been reported to taste like candy and give you a mild euphoria, as if they're walking through the cosmos, which makes you let your guard down, and thus, make you want to take more. But if you do, you will experience a numbness in your limbs that makes it hard to feel things, physically and emotionally, on top of the euphoria turning into paranoia. Needless to say, too much will kill you."

"Are you kidding me?" Luigi demands, crossing his arms. "I couldn't go dreamwalking through Molly's dreams because you want to wake up a druggie?"

"Mm, yes." Snoozemore. "I'd think you'd have more compassion for all the innocent people who could die because they don't know what they're putting into their systems. Or have you just been playing along for Molly's sake?"

"Our window to attempt to dreamwalk through Molly's memories is dwindling as we speak." Luigi reminds him. "Whoever the druggie is, has infinitely longer."

"Mm, no. This drug has been running rampant in Shroom City for months, and only recently did we discover it here. Do you wish to have innocent Pi'illo deaths on your hands? Because I don't."

"The only reason I'm here in this invasion of privacy hellhole..." Luigi isn't budging. "Is because you told me there was a chance I could put Molly's connection to my parents to rest, knowing if it was a murder or suicide."

"And as long as you still have time afterwards, that chance will still be there. You will dreamwalk through Alexis' dreams and tell us where she got her hands on silver stars."

The room goes quiet for several seconds, with everyone stealing looks at each other before Luigi says, "Okay."

Then he stands up, "What are we waiting for, then?", and storms out, while Mario buries his face in his hands.

"Luigi Turner, date of birth, October 11th." Officer Clark tells her captain. "No license due to his medical condition, parents, unknown. There's a lot of holes here, and I don't like it."

"So?"

"So, tell me you agree there's something really wrong with Luigi Turner so I can look into it. The woman everyone thinks is his mother, he wasn't close to in any sense, and is in fact just his foster mother. And more to the point, why is he protected by someone who doesn't exist, and yet has jurisdiction with the NYPD?"

"Again, so?" The captain isn't taking this seriously. "Even if you were onto something, which I'm not saying you are, the answer would be the same: not our department, and not yours either."

"Cap--"

"Alexis Maven." Her captain drops a file on her desk. "Reported extremely disoriented before she vanished from the hospital. She's got connections in high places, so I don't want this in the papers, period. And as far as Luigi Turner goes? Not one word."

Then he leaves, so Clark punches in a number.

"Detective Clark from Narcotics. Can I see the urine test results for the potential overdose from last night?" a beat, then, "Yes, it's Alexis Maven." Then in the next instant, she's snapping, "What do you mean it's missing?"

"I'm telling you, this is normal!" the urologist says as he leads her to her office.

"People's urine tests going missing is normal?" Clark doesn't believe it.

"We're talking about tests that expose people using drugs." The urologist explains as she pulls out some folders. "Lot of people don't want that kind of information getting out. You wouldn't want someone going through your browser history, would you?"

"Don't make that comparison in my presence again." Clark warns, then as she looks at the paper, shakes her head. "Not Alexis Maven.", then to the urologist, "And you didn't think to report this?"

"Look, I get it, okay?" the urologist says. "You're fresh out of the academy, trying to protect and serve. Just give me time, and I promise, her results will show up somewhere. And think of it this way: if she's not here, that means she's probably still alive."

"I'm gonna go snooping around." Clark informs him. "See if I can't find where she came from. And then I'm coming back here. Get those results."

"Aye aye." The urologist mock salutes.

The moment she's gone, the urologist places a call.

"Hey, Snooze? You got a problem."

"Sample is ready." Pauline confirms, before noting, "God, she's really young, isn't she?"

"Who cares?" Luigi comes out of the changing room, fully dressed in his pajamas.

When no one moves, Luigi has enough sense to backpedal, "Look, the sooner we finish here, the sooner I can take care of Molly. That's all this is.", then walks over to the Ultibed.

"Places everyone!" Mario orders. "Dim the lights."

As they do, Mario calls out,

"Monitors?"

"Check."

"Biofeedback?"

"Check."

"Sleep Quality?"

"Check."

"Healing Pods?"

"Check."

"Communications?"

"Check." Pauline replies.

"Starlow?"

"Check."

"Luigi?"

"We've been over this: you can't check me until I'm asleep."

"Moving on: we've locked onto her most recent trauma as best we can."

"What does that mean?" Luigi sits up. "Was I wrong to think you'd actually be someone I can trust?"

"It means the drugs in her system could have an effect on her dreams." Mario explains as he walks over to the bed.

"Is that something I need to worry about?"

"Let's find out in 3...2...1!" Mario counts down, catching Luigi so he doesn't hit his head on the Ultibed's headboard, and laying his head down before tapping the earpieces in both their ears.

After a moment, the dream portal opens, and on 3 again, he jumps right in.